Togo-Flagged Tanker Eureka Seized off Yemen's Shabwa Coast, Redirected Toward Somali Puntland

The Togo-flagged oil products tanker Eureka has been boarded and seized off Yemen's Shabwa governorate and is being directed toward the Somali coastline, in the latest incident in a renewed surge of piracy activity in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Puntland.

The 88-metre coastal tanker departed Sharjah on February 17, loaded cargo in Fujairah, and made passage to the small oil terminal at Qana in Yemen's Shabwa governorate before departing on April 30. The vessel lingered off the Shabwa coastline for several days before being seized on May 2. AIS tracking data from ShipAtlas indicates Eureka is being directed toward Qandala in northeast Somalia's Puntland region, where it is likely to be moored offshore given the absence of a harbour. The vessel is managed by Emirati interests. The identity of the seizing party has not been confirmed; a commercially motivated seizure linked to a dispute with the owners has not been ruled out.

UKMTO reported two separate piracy attempts in the same area on May 1 and 2, prior to the confirmed seizure. In the first, a bulk carrier master reported being approached by a skiff with a fishing vessel acting as support. In the second, a separate bulk carrier reported seven armed men approaching in a skiff. Both vessels were transiting the Maritime Security Transit Corridor at the time.

The seizure of Eureka follows the confirmed hijackings of the Palau-flagged tanker Honour 25 and St Kitts and Nevis-flagged cargo vessel Sward on April 26, both redirected toward the Puntland coast. EUNAVFOR Operation Atalanta has a frigate monitoring at least one of the hijacked vessels.

UKMTO has issued a warning of heightened piracy activity in the Gulf of Aden and waters off Puntland. Investigation into the seizure of Eureka is ongoing.